COVID nasal prophylactics, mouthwashes etc

Nasal prophylactics, and deconstruction of the current paradigm based on the January 2023 FDA meeting 

SARS-CoV-2 enters the body through the nose, and initially multiplies there. During this period, SARS-CoV-2 is asymptomatic, but can still spread, as the infected individual breathes shared air in and out. (Asymptomatic spread is one characteristic that makes SARS-CoV-2 so hard to stop.) Later, SARS-CoV-2 infects other parts of the body, including the mouth (see below). Therefore, if we really want to stop SARS-CoV-2 — remember, our current ruling elites are in favor of transmission — we have to stop it in this early period, while it is still multiplying in the nose. It follows that any sterilizing vaccine — the unfortunate term for a vaccine that prevents community transmission — must activate mucosal immunity — the nose has its own separate immune system (!) — which intra-muscular injections do not do. It also follows that non-vax treatments, that also may kill SARS-CoV-2 in its initial phase, can be very, very useful.

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Nasal sprays.  I’ve been using enovid sanotize, buying from Israel 

• Vaill CoviTRAP. Sadly available (so far) only in Thailand.  A post exposure products
• Enovid Sanotize/Virx (two brands, same formulation). A Nitric Oxide technology
• Algovir.  Carrageenan seems to be important 
• Povidone-iodine. It’s super simple and cheap to make your own povidone nasal spray: add 4 ml 10% povidone iodine (approx $5 for 8 oz.) to a $2 40ml bottle of saline nasal spray. 

Mouthwash with “cetylpyridinium chloride” and “ethanol/ethyl lauroyl” 

Naked capitalism has been covering nasal spray

 

Capitalism

Viewed through the lens of 

analytical philosophy

Marx read Ricardo and Smith.

analytic philosophers have reinterpreted Marxism to provide a radical critique of capitalist society.

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Over the course of the last century, a tradition of Marxist theory, analytic Marxism, developed that ran parallel to the dogmatic thinking still prevalent among sections of the Left. It attempted to grapple with the complexities of capitalist social relations armed, like Marx himself, with the most sophisticated conceptual tools available, be they from bourgeois economics or philosophy. Despite claims to the contrary, its insights remain indispensable to anyone attempting understand what’s wrong with capitalism and to chart a path toward a more just society.

But

 It polemicizes against “dogmatic Marxists” in the abstract, and does not really take up debates that are actually happening. A major problem with the article is what is MISSING:
No discussion of ecological Marxism (represented best by the magazine Monthly Review)
NO discussion of imperialism: the US is more than just a capitalist country, it is the (still) hegemonic imperialist power in the world. Along with this, no discussion of the military industrial complex
NO discussion of MONOPOLY capitalism or financialization, or the de-industrialization of the US
NO discussion of the experience of “actually existing” socialist countries

Long COVID

Nature   surveys the state of knowledge 

More than 200 symptoms have been identified with impacts on multiple organ systems. At least 65 million individuals worldwide are estimated to have long COVID, with cases increasing daily. Biomedical research has made substantial progress in identifying various pathophysiological changes and risk factors and in characterizing the illness; further, similarities with other viral-onset illnesses such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome have laid the groundwork for research in the field. In this Review, we explore the current literature and highlight key findings, the overlap with other conditions, the variable onset of symptoms, long COVID in children and the impact of vaccinations. 

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There are likely multiple, potentially overlapping, causes of long COVID. Several hypotheses for its pathogenesis have been suggested, including persisting reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 in tissues16,17; immune dysregulation17–20 with or without reactivation of underlying patho- gens, including herpesviruses such as Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) among others17,18,21,22; impacts of SARS- CoV-2 on the microbiota, including the virome17,23–25; autoimmun- ity17,26–28andprimingoftheimmunesystemfrommolecularmimicry17; microvascular blood clotting with endothelial dysfunction17,29–31; and dysfunctional signalling in the brainstem and/or vagus nerve17,32 (Fig. 3). Mechanistic studies are generally at an early stage, and although work that builds on existing research from postviral illnesses such as ME/CFS has advanced some theories, many questions remain and are a priority to address. 

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Early research shows an increasing risk of long COVID sequelae after the second and third infection, even in double-vaccinated and triple-vaccinated people182. Existing literature suggests multiple infec- tions may cause additional harm or susceptibility to the ME/CFS-type presentation33,183.
There is also early evidence that certain immune responses in people with long COVID, including low levels of protective antibod- ies and elevated levels of autoantibodies, may suggest an increased susceptibility to reinfection27.
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Conclusions
Long COVID is a multisystemic illness encompassing ME/CFS, dysauto- nomia, impacts on multiple organ systems, and vascular and clotting abnormalities. It has already debilitated millions of individuals world- wide, and that number is continuing to grow. On the basis of more than 2 years of research on long COVID and decades of research on condi- tions such as ME/CFS, a significant proportion of individuals with long COVID may have lifelong disabilities if no action is taken. Diagnostic and treatment options are currently insufficient, and many clinical trials are urgently needed to rigorously test treatments that address hypoth- esized underlying biological mechanisms, including viral persistence, neuroinflammation, excessive blood clotting and autoimmunity.

Monbiot   has a nice article (includes links to primary sources)

We are all playing Covid roulette. Without clean air, the next infection could permanently disable you

The application layer of AI

Arrived in force in 2022

the stuff that you and I will interact with every day.

generative AI allows us to turn our thoughts into words and images and videos.

This long article covers a lot:

Generative AI—which broke through in 2022—is the most compelling technology since the rise of mobile and cloud over a decade ago. The platform layer is calcifying, and we’re seeing green shoots of an exciting application layer—the products that could become part of everyday life for billions of people. 

The goal of this piece is to examine the “why now” behind this moment in AI, and to explore the ways that startups can build with AI. We’ll cover:

1. Setting the Stage

2. Algorithmic Recommendation Systems

3. Image Models

4. Language Models

5. Use Cases for Generative AI

6. Business Models

7. Final Thoughts & Key Questions Still to Answer

   
   

   

   
   

   Unbundling Craigslist, from a decade ago.  Products successfully launched based on more focus and better experience.

   
   

   
   

Epigenetic reprogramming

Potential for aging reversal!

I might use this in a science fiction story.  Make it difficult and expensive and look at the economic competition, and maybe have the hero figure out how to make it cheaper 

 Maybe the entities with monopoly power over the process don’t want it to be cheap…

Medicare advantage

Only provides advantages to the administrators.  Mostly results in restricted care for patients and fraudulent billing to Medicare ie taxpayers 

Wendell Potter, the creator of Medicare advantage, explains what went wrong

the Medicare Advantage program has become an enormous cash cow for insurers, in large part because of the way they have rigged the risk-scoring system to maximize profits.

Cellphone radiation

A review of standards, health data and more

a growing body of research has found evidence of health risks even when people are exposed to radiation below the FCC limits. The array of possible harms ranges from effects on fertility and fetal development to associations with cancer. Some studies of people living near cell towers have also confirmed an array of health complaints, including dizziness, nausea, headaches, tinnitus and insomnia, from people identified as having “electromagnetic hypersensitivity.”

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a key to minimizing risk is increasing your distance from the phone. This means keeping any cellphone that’s turned on away from direct contact with your body. Don’t keep it in your bra, in your pocket or (especially if you’re pregnant) against your abdomen, they say. And instead of holding the phone against your head when you talk, use a speaker or wired earphones. (Wireless headsets, such as AirPods, also emit some radiation.) Try to avoid making calls when the phone is telling you the signal is weak because that boosts the radiation level. You can also limit exposure by simply reducing how much time you spend talking on your cellphone and texting instead, they say. Using an old-fashioned landline avoids the problem altogether.

COVID narratives and state of play

List of COVID mismessaging in 2022

How did so many in the US end up desensitized to mass death and disability, angrily opposed to almost all means of mitigating an occasionally fatal airborne virus, and willing to accept so little from the powerful? This list helps explain.

NEJM article covers the current situation

There is

 a widespread assumption, fueled by political and economic priorities, that the pandemic is behind us — that it’s time to let go of caution and resume prepandemic life.

The reality, however, would starkly contradict such a belief. Covid-19 currently results in about 300 to 500 deaths per day in the United States — equivalent to an annual mortality burden higher than that associated with a bad influenza season. In addition, many people continue to face severe short- or long-term Covid-19 illness, including people who lack access to vaccines or treatment and those with underlying conditions that impair their immune response to vaccines or render them especially vulnerable to Covid-associated complications. The ever-looming threat of the evolution of a new variant, one that can evade our vaccines and antivirals, remains very real. These facts support the assumption that SARS-CoV-2 will continue to play a major role in our lives for the foreseeable future. This new reality compels us to navigate a more complex social, economic, political, and clinical terrain and to take to heart the lessons learned from the Covid-19 response thus far — both the successes and the missteps.

We can’t just wish it away

Here’s a good article from Dec22 with lots of sources